


Ruvik's Sunflower

by The_Unique_Story_Spinner



Category: The Evil Within (Video Game)
Genre: Anger, Death, Fear, Grief/Mourning, Loneliness, Loss, Psychological Trauma, Shooting Guns, Survival Horror, Understanding, connection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:35:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28088610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Unique_Story_Spinner/pseuds/The_Unique_Story_Spinner
Summary: When I come up with a story the first thing that comes to mind is "I don't know what the hell this is but let's make it happen!" I have been pretty beaten up over what happened to Ruvik for a lot of years and decided I'd spin a story out of it. The events start off with you and Sebastian after making it to the Victoriano Estate. You are just a young woman who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and got wrapped in being taken with Sebastian and the others getting trapped within STEM. After finding out more about what happened to Ruvik as a boy you soon begin to deeply sympathize with him. Ruvik takes notice...but what will he do? Why does your head hurt so much...?
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	1. What Happened to Him...?

_**Subject Number 58. Test 92A. Electrode placement in M-33 pain region, ineffective. Anticipate greater results with stimulation of section F-7, the “consent” region of the neocortex. Subject imprint partially successful. Individual personality traits linger.**  
  
_ “That shit is gross...” You say as you watch Sebastian eye Ruvik's notes. “His research is kind of cool but...that shit is gross.” Your face twists in disgust as he fiddles with the probe making sure it was located in the right spot. There was a severed head on a table with its brain completely exposed with what looked like lobotomy picks sticking in it. It was another one of Ruvik's puzzles.  
  
“Hush. I'm trying to concentrate...” Sebastian hovered the probe just over where he thought it should go and then hit the button to make the needle stab into the brain. Almost immediately, both of you doubled over in pain.  
  
“SON OF A BITCH! WHAT IN THE FUCK WAS THAT!?” You shout as you hold your head in your hands. The mind shattering pain was gone just as soon as it came. “What the hell did you just do?!” You yelled as the last of the pain faded. It had felt like your brain wanted to split in half within your skull.  
  
“I don't know! I thought that's where he wanted the damn thing!” He groaned.  
  
“Well, try again! Don't stab it wherever the fuck you just stabbed it though, it may hurt us again!” You shout irritably. The both of you were exhausted and over all the running you two had done to survive Ruvik's tortured and twisted world. You wanted to go home really fucking badly. You encountered so many near-death experiences it wasn't even remotely funny. Between the city suddenly falling apart, having a huge brute try to gut you both with a chainsaw, being chased by what looked like the undead, almost having a huge-ass canine eat you with its neck teeth, and being shot at constantly, you and Sebastian wanted a fucking break. Sebastian entered the probe into the brain a second and your head wanted to split open like a damn cantaloupe again. “Okay, fuck this, scoot over!” You hip bumped him out of the way to take a look at the piece of paper that depicted a diagram of the human brain. “Play the damn tape again, Seb. I didn't hear it clearly the first time.” You say firmly.  
  
“What do you think you're doing?” Seb asked angrily.  
  
“You clearly have no idea what the fuck you're doing and I am not going to stand here while you give me several mini-intense-migraines. Fuck that noise, Seb. Play the damn tape again.” You say feeling irritated and not looking at him. The pain in your side from being slammed into a wall earlier began to flare up again. Could you have a broken rib...? No. You could not and did not have time for that.  
  
“You even gonna have the stomach for that?” The Detective asked sounding exasperated.  
  
“I'm going to have to... I want the fuck out of here just as much as you do.” You say as he hit the play button.  
  
 _ **Subject Number 58. Test 92A.Electrode placement in M-33 pain region, ineffective. Anticipate greater results with stimulation of section F-7, the “consent” region of the neocortex. Subject imprint partially successful. Individual personality traits linger.**  
  
_ As Ruvik's recorded voice played again you traced your finger along the diagram and realized what Sebastian did wrong immediately.  
  
“What did you stab first, Seb?” You arch a brow as your head drooped. "It's okay, you can tell me." You took in a sharp breath.  
  
“The M-33. The first one he said. Why?” Your shoulders slumped and you groaned.  
  
“Dammit, Seb... The _**M-33**_ was _**“i** **neffective”**_ , it was the **_consent_** region you needed to probe. The _ **F-7**_.” You sighed tapping your finger where the F-7 was labeled. “Are you sure you're a Detective, Seb? Could have fooled me...” You rolled your eyes.  
  
“You gonna stand there and insult me or are you going to probe the damn thing so we can get the hell out of here?” He sounded just as irritated as you. Both you and he hadn't known each other long as you had only met after you climbed into the ambulance seeking safety as the city's streets tore apart. You two weren't exactly friends and worked well together but by this time the both of you were extremely grumpy and frustrated.  
  
“Look...I'm sorry, okay... I'm tired, I'm wet, I'm angry, I'm hurting... It's not exactly making me feel friendly if I'm being honest here, Seb... If we can get out of here I'll buy you a beer, yeah?” You tried to shoot him a smile and he just frowned. “Two beers, then?” You held up two fingers. “Three?” You nervously grinned. “If I have to hold up four fingers you're just an alcoholic, Seb.” You chuckled.  
  
Sebastian just rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “Just stab the damn brain, Y/N...”  
  
“Copy.” You hit the button on the machine which caused the probe to stick into a fleshy part of the brain which made a nasty squishy sound. “Ew...” Not too long after the vile of red liquid above you began to empty and the sound of a mechanism turning echoed in the distance. “I hope that's a good sound...”  
  
The grumpy Detective nodded. “Me to--” Soon a voice could be heard behind you and you both whipped around to find the source. You saw two figures, one looked familiar. The smaller figure...you couldn't make out who it was. A child...?  
  
 _“Is...this what did you call it? Your “inner sanctum”? A research lab of your own? I am most impressed.”_  
  
“I don't think they're real, Seb...” You stepped closer. “Is...is that Jimenez...?” The figures before you were of a light color head to toe like they were either holograms or ghosts. The smaller figure looked to be a little boy in fancy clothes with neatly combed blond hair. Sebastian stepped up behind you as you circled around the figures. The taller of the two was definitely Dr. Jimenez.  
  
 _“Why are you back? I didn't give you permission.”_ The boy sounded like he didn't want Jimenez to be near him or in his space.

“ _Come now, we are both men of science. Men of science are dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. You can show me your experiments. I can show you things...”_ The doctor's tone alone made you not trust him as you and Seb watched the scene play out in front of you.

“ _You wouldn't like them. You'd think they're gross...”_ For some reason how the little boy said “gross” kind of broke your heart. His voice sounded lonely.  
  
 _“In science, one must do any number of things a lay person may find “disgusting". I've done many things others would consider...distasteful.”_ A part of you wanted to step up and shield the small boy from the doctor but you knew it would be of no good as they weren't real. Some part of you deep down never trusted Marcelo...you just were never able to put your finger on it. How he acted around Leslie unsettled you... You did not think he had Leslie's best interests at heart. You really needed to find Leslie... He was probably so scared somewhere... Why did he have to run off again?...  
  
The little boy spoke up again. _“You think I'm some kind of monster...”_ You felt your expression soften and shift towards sympathetic. This boy must be so lonely whoever he is...

“ _You concern yourself so much with your appearance, but that mind of yours, that's all that matters.”_ Jimenez leaned down to the little boy's level which made your skin crawl. The specters disappeared.  
  
“Was that...Ruvik?” Sebastian spoke up after a moment.  
  
“Do you think it could have been?” You turn towards your partner with sad eyes. “If that's who that boy was, it would make sense. He did look like he could be a young little Ruvik...” For some reason, your heart felt heavy. Something was definitely off.  
  
“Let's go. With these pipes up in the ceiling, I'm figuring they're to that door we first saw when we came in. I'm guessing we have two more fun puzzles to solve before that thing opens. Come on.” Seb motioned for you to follow him with one hand and had his gun at the ready in the other.  
  
“Right.” You nodded and quietly followed behind him feeling a bit downhearted.  
  
If that little boy was Ruvik...was he sharing his memories?...

Why...?

\---------------

_**Subject Number 12, Test 71B, Electrode Placement A-2. Stimulation of amygdalae, seat of emotion and memory allocation; the fear center of the brain. Subject feels as I do. But this vessel is far too weak to withstand the psychological weight I myself bear daily.**  
  
_ “Stab it in the **fear** center, Seb,” You walk up beside him and gaze at the paper on the table pointing to the red section on the diagram. “Right there, in the back of the brain.”  
  
“You sure?” Seb gave you an unsure look.  
  
“If I'm not, we'll feel as if our brains have been scrambled.” You gave a half-smile. “He did label this red section here _“Fear”_ , so let's give it a _stab_.” You raise your brows with a chuckle and he just nodded starting the prob soon sighing with relief as another vile of red liquid began to drain away. You heard the same sound from before in the distance. Puzzle two was solved. You two crouched down to leave the secret room through the fireplace and back out into the main bedroom.  
  
“I'm getting too old for this...” Sebastian stood up straight swiping old cobwebs from his hair and face.  
  
You sputtered as one stuck to your lips. “You and me both--” You looked over and saw another see-through figure talking down at two bodies on the ground that weren't there before. This figure was tall, slender, dressed nicely, but his face and hands were covered with bandages.  
  
 _“Oh, father, if only you knew how satisfying that look on your face is... Did you actually think if you locked me away I would just cease to exist?”_ The figure's voice shook just a little as he spoke holding a knife in his shaky hands. _“Out of sight out of mind? You did...didn't you...? Well, you were never out of my mind... I hope you're proud of yourselves.”_ He vanished.  
  
“He killed his parents...” You walked over and eyed the bodies feeling sort of sad. The corpses were a woman and man dressed in nice clothes, their throats slit open. “I almost can't blame him...” You looked down at Ruvik's parents feeling more sad than disgusted. A part of you knew you were just looking at manifested memories even though you could have touched them.  
  
“Are you sympathizing with a killer, Y/N?” Sebastian made a face. “You can't be serious...”  
  
“They locked him in their basement, Seb... Even you can admit that's kind of fucked up.” You gazed at the bodies just a bit longer feeling for the little boy who grew up into a maimed teenager. “Let's go... We got one more brain to stab somewhere...” You say quietly as you creep back out into the hallway.  
  


What happened to him that made him so deranged and angry...?

Second of all... Why did you care...?

\---------------

**_Subject Number 14, Test 88C; limbic priming, attempt three. Electrode placement C-4; stimulation of the cingulate cortex, the hope center. Assailing the hope axis improves domination of the subject's will but...domination is not enough._ **

You look over Sebastian's shoulder. “So, ya gotta stab th--”  
  
He waved you away. “Yeah, yeah, the hope center, that tiny piece up here, shut up.”  
  
You snickered as the red liquid escaped again like the last two times. “Let's go see what else happened to Ruvik...” You crossed your arms and sighed.  
  
“What the hell is happening here, Y/N?” You looked up at Sebastian with raised brows. “Not too long ago you hated Ruvik just as much as the rest of us and now you're all sad over him? What's your deal? He's almost gotten us killed more times than we can count. I'd run out of fingers if I tried to count the sheer amount with only my hands!”  
  
“Look, it's more complicated than that, Sebastian! Surely, you can see that.” For some reason you were feeling irritated, but for whom? “He was just a kid and clearly something bad happened to him to make him this way. I'm not saying, like, all is forgiven,” You wave your hands about. “But I can see something fucked up happened to him and whatever it was...it messed him up pretty bad, Sebastian...”  
  
“You're insane.” Sebastian turned from you and you grabbed his hand to stop him.  
  
“Look, I am not saying I am not still livid and I am not saying I'm forgiving all the death he's caused, I'm just saying I feel for the little boy he used to be. I am human, Sebastian. I have emotions, I feel things, I can sympathize with people, I am empathetic, and I am feeling for that poor lonely boy that was locked away in his parent's basement. Can you imagine what that's like? From the looks of it...he was locked in there for years... His last memory showed him as a teenager I think... Imagine if someone did that to your daughter, Seb... Isolation does shit to you...and to the mind...” He tugged his arm from your grasp. "Surely, you can--" He interrupted you.  
  
“We need to go. I'm not fully agreeing with you, but I see where you're coming from... Let's just go...” You followed him out into what you figured was a music room and right on cue two holographic figures appeared. Ruvik sat at the broken piano playing a beautiful piece and Dr. Jimenez was behind him speaking.  
  
 _“The hospital has not received the family's usual donation this year.”_ Jimenez began.  
  
Ruvik didn't stop playing. _“And why would they? Has the hospital been doing anything worthy of donation?”_

“ _The Victoriano family has always been a generous contributor.”_ Jimenez stepped forward looking about. _“Where are your parents...?”_  
  
 _“They have gone away.”_ Ruvik continued to play softly on the piano giving no mind to the doctor.  
  
 _“When do you expect them...?”_ The doctor was interrupted by Ruvik abruptly slamming his bandaged hand down on the piano keys angrily ceasing his playing.

“ _Is there something you wish to discuss, doctor?”_ Ruvik did not sound pleased.

“ _I came to inform you that the hospital will no longer be able to provide you with assistance...materials...”_ Jimenez crossed his arms.

  
  
Sebastian scoffed. “You mean people to experiment on.”  
  
“Shh!” You nudged Sebastian in the side and continued to listen.

  
  
Jimenez continued. _“Your research will very quickly disintegrate.”_

“ _How dare you come into my home and threaten me.”_ The figures disappeared.

“Jimenez did something to him, Seb... I didn't trust him before and I definitely don't **_now_**.” Your expression was focused on where the doctor had been standing. “From the very beginning, he seemed shady... I do not trust him. We need to find Leslie and fast, before he does.”  
  
“I can agree to that... Let's get a move on. That door out in the main hall is probably open. It may be our escape from here.” Sebastian took your hand as you two made a run for it.

What happened to Ruvik...and why do you care so much to know...?  
  
\-------

Just as you two theorized the huge door under the stairs with the giant gears and mechanisms was open revealing a long list hallway that had been sealed off before.  
  
“That looks inviting, doesn't it?” You sigh. “This has to be another trap...”  
  
Sebastian just eyed the hallway calculating just how safe this little trip would be. “Yup, but we have nowhere else to go. Worst case scenario,”  
  
“We Die.” You finished his sentence and nodded. “No more running?”  
  
Sebastian glanced at you from the corner of his eye. “No more running.” You both nod and enter the hallway at top speed hearing the door close behind you. You looked over your shoulder and saw that the exit had been completely sealed off as if the door was never there. It had to be Ruvik. The hall was one way only now.  
  
“Shit...” You heard Sebastian and looked ahead seeing Ruvik. Your heart froze in your chest and the two of you stopped dead in your tracks.  
  
“Seb, what do we do?! There's no way back! We are fucking screwed! We can't shoot him! He'll kill us!” You started to panic as Ruvik crept closer. “Seb! What do we do?!”  
  
“I DON'T KNOW! I DON'T KNOW!” Sebastian stepped in front of you to try to shield you from harm. It was a useless effort...

  
  
\-------

The next time you opened your eyes you were in some sort of room. Your head was spinning.  
  
“You're okay!” You felt a heavy hand on your shoulder.  
  
“S-Sebastian...?” You felt woozy but quickly got your bearings.  
  
“He didn't separate us. That's good.” He almost sounded relieved.  
  
“Y-yeah...that good at least--” You looked over when you heard young Ruvik's voice again. The child version of himself was sitting at a table dissecting what looked to be a pig's head. “Is-is that Ruvik...?”  
  
 _“Slice clean... All the way... No cure for what I'm going to do to you... Peel the pristine skin...thoughts from the mind... What do you fear little one...? Peel away... No tearing... Expose everything...”_ The boy seemed focused on his work.

“Y/N, what are you doing...?” Seb reached a hand out to you as you near the memory of the child Ruvik. When you went to reach out to him he dissolved into red goo which then released into the air like swirling rose petals. They trailed down the stairs and you heard a child's giggling.  
  
“I guess he wants us to follow him...He has to be leading us somewhere...?” You say as you cautiously follow the child.  
  
“I doubt we have much of a choice...” Sebastian readied his gun, just as he was about to follow you a monster made of what looked like swirling blood cells appeared. “Y/N! GET BACK!” You ran to the side and ducked as Seb released a shotgun blast into its chest. It did nothing.  
  
“Sebastian! We gotta move if we can't kill it!” You dashed across the room and halted on the stairs as you looked down them. The young Ruvik giggled up at you and then disappeared. “I think he wants us to follow him, Seb!” You called out.  
  
Another shotgun blast was heard behind you. “Creepy ghost child wants us to follow him?! Perfect!” Sebastian caught up to you as you followed the flowing red trail that Ruvik left for you leading to an ornate looking door.  
  
“I feel this will be SO fun.” You rolled your eyes as you began to push the door open but before you could your mind was painfully assaulted with visions making your head feel like it wanted to burst. You yelled out as a field of sunflowers filled your mind. You swore you could almost smell them... There were men with torches...? A barn...? They were angry...? Children's laughter...?  
  
You opened your eyes again and was now standing in the very field of sunflowers you had seen in your mind, Sebastian was next to you.  
  
“Y/N...you're bleeding...” Sebastian pointed to his nose looking concerned for you. "You hurt?..."  
  
You swiped your hand across your nose and there was now a streak of blood across your skin. “Oh, shit...” You sounded tired. You felt tired. You felt...exhausted...  
  
“Are you going to be alright...?” He steadied you by placing his hands on your shoulders.  
  
“I'm going to have to be...?” You felt dizzy like you were underwater. “Something happened here...something big...he wants to show us...” You held your head in your hand. “Show...me...? I feel like shit...”  
  
“Let's get inside, maybe we can shelter here for a bit so you can rest.” Seb had your arm over his shoulders as he leads you inside the barn. Of course, you two couldn't just relax in here. That would be too perfect. The young Ruivk's voice could be heard again.  
  
 _“Laura, where are you?”_ Ruvik giggled. _  
  
_“Ruvik...?” You weakly raised your head. You didn't feel like yourself. Something felt off. Something...or someone was pulling at the back of your mind...tugging at the outskirts of your psyche... Your vision was blurry. Your mind felt like it was...burning... Fire...? Your thoughts were a mess that didn't make sense as they flurried about inside your skull like a swarm of buzzing hornets.  
  
 _“I know your in here. I can hear you breathing...”_ Ruvik was giggling with someone else. You looked up and saw Ruvik as a child playing with a girl who had long dark hair and wearing a long red dress. They were playing Hide and Seek.  
  
“His sister?” Seb helped you down feeling you couldn't quite stand by yourself at this moment.  
  
“I think I know her name...Laura...I saw that somewhere...” You could barely form sentences. “She...” Your head felt like it was full of cotton and lightning as you palmed your face. You felt like you were going to throw up. “She burned...” Your head snapped up suddenly with realization. “We need to get the fuck out of here, Seb!” You began to panic as Ruvik and his sister were playing in the hay piles. You would have thought that was cute if you weren't feeling scared about being burned alive. Another vision of the angry men with torches flew across your mind's eye making you scream in pain.  
  
“Now, hold on, Y/N. We're the only ones he--” You cut him off.  
  
“We're about to not be! You have to listen to m--!” The barn was engulfed with flames instantly.  
  
“What the hell?!” Sebastian yanked you up from the ground.  
  
“I told you! We need to get out! Their dad pissed some people off and they burned this place to the ground!” Another vision hit you hard just about crippling you. Ruvik, as a child, was screaming and aflame. His clothes, skin, and hair on fire. “They burned this place down knowing the children were in here! They didn't care!” You were a hysterical mess of fear, anger, and sorrow as tears streaked down your face. “They burned, Seb! Ruben and Laura burned!” Another vision played in your mind making you cover your eyes and tell out. Your head felt like it was filled with white hot fire pokers. An image of Laura helped push Ruben out a window to safety. You looked up at saw the very same window above you and point to it frantically. “There! We can get out through there!”  
  
You and Sebastian were able to make it to the window above but more swirling petals hit you both with force knocking you back to the ground below. Your back was wracked with extreme pain upon impact as you slid across the barn floor.  
  
“Y/N! YOU STILL WITH ME?!” You heard Sebastian's voice from somewhere and a series of gun blasts.  
  
“BARELY!” You shout back as you slowly crawled to your feet. “WHAT HAPPENED!?” You call out to him over the sound of the roaring flames and flying bullets.  
  
“THIS!” Another shotgun blast. “Y/N! DUCK!” By now that became a reflex. As soon as you ducked down Seb had taken a shot and one of those undead looking people crumpled at your feet. That bullet went straight through its eye.  
  
“OH, GREAT, JUST WHAT WE NEED!” You rolled your eyes as you shielded them from the intense light of the blaze.  
  
“TAKE THIS! TRY NOT TO SHOOT ME!” Sebastian slid you a handgun. “JUST AIM AND FIRE! MAKE HEADSHOTS IF YOU CAN! IF ANYTHING, SHOOT THEIR LEGS! IT'LL SLOW 'EM DOWN!”  
  
You picked up the gun nervously. You never really fired a gun before but this was life and death. Sebastian had been doing everything in his power to keep you safe so you felt you could at least try to do the same and back him up. You aimed the gun at one of the creeps' head's but shot it in the chest on accident. You went with it and fired two more times blowing out its heart, it stopped dead in its tracks.  
  
“NOT BAD FOR YOUR FIRST TRY! KEEP DOING THAT!” Sebastian let loose a series of bullets and you heard a third voice behind you.  
  
 _ **“YOU DID THIS TO US!!!”**_ It sounded enraged and desperate. You turned around and saw it was the same swarming blood cell monster from before.  
  
“WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING?!” You fired again hitting one of those things in the center of its forehead dropping it immediately. “IS IT SPAWNING THESE THINGS?!”  
  
“I THINK SO! WHATEVER IT IS, IT'S PISSED OFF!!” He knifed another one of those creatures in the back of the head and tossed it to the ground.  
  
An apparition of Laura screamed and fell to the ground, the bloodied creature ran to her scooping her up into its arms gently with care. _**“YOU DID THIS TO US!!!”**_ It shouted again and it cradled Laura in its arms falling to its knees. It sounded pained... The other monsters stopped appearing all together and those that were still alive killed over instantly.  
  
Something clicked in your brain as you took a few strides towards the monster with pity in your eyes.  
  
“Y/N! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! DON'T TOUCH IT!” Sebastian yelled after you. "IT'LL KILL YOU, Y/N! DON'T! COME BACK!" His pleas fell on deaf ears.  
  
You reached a kind hand out to the creature as you walked closer and it slowly turned its head towards you. It may have had no face or eyes but you could feel its pain...its anger...its loss...its grief... “Ruvik...is...is that you...?”  
  
“Y/N! DON'T! LEAVE HIM! WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE! THIS PLACE IS GOING TO COLLAPSE!” You ignored Sebastian as the burning roof crashed around the three of you. Everything went black.


	2. The Poor Boy Who Burned and The Young Man Who Was Spurned by God

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruvik has captured you...  
> But what does he want with you?...

Your head ached as you lolled it side to side as you slowly regained consciousness. You weren't in serious pain like before it was still there just dull. You went to push your hair out of your face quickly realizing your hands had been restrained. Your eyes shot open and you lifted your head seeing that your hands were in patient restraints as were your ankles. You jerked against the restraints trying to get free but had no luck. Your heart pounded in your chest as you tried to break free. Looking around you realized you were in some type of lab and you were on an old rusted gurney. “Oh hell no...” You pulled at the padded cuffs again managing to free one of your legs as the cuff snapped from the bed. “If I can just free my hands I can get the fuck out of--”  
  
“You're going to hurt yourself, Y/N.”  
  
You froze. You knew that voice. You knew it well. It was the voice of a man that had been taunting you and Sebastian since you got stuck in this Godforsaken place. You had been caught. Taken. Restrained. Captured. Ruvik had you. You feared for your life. “I am not going to be one of your fucking experiments! Let me go, Ruvik!” You jerked one last time freeing a hand but before you could free your other hand Ruvik caught your wrist mid-motion.  
  
“Didn't you hear me? I said you're going to hurt yourself and we wouldn't want that now would we?” His lips curled into that of a smirk as his icy eyes looked down upon you. His fingers were freezing as if he were dead. “If you calm down I just may release you.”  
  
“How about you release me now and save us both the time and effort?” You were a mixture of fear and rage. A sense of powerlessness flowed through you but you didn't let it show. You were a fighter. “How's that sound? I don't feel like being lobotomized by some psychotic bullshit scientist!” You raised your voice. Calling him a psycho didn't seem to phase him but it cut you instead. Somewhere deep you knew you didn't mean that. Maybe, he knew that too.  
  
“You say that as if that's not something I've been called before.” Ruvik had an air of arrogance about him as he released your hand. “You can free yourself but if you plan on running you won't get far.” He eyed you and smirked again pointing to the side of his cranium where you could see some of his brain through what looked like glass. “You're trapped here as long as I want you to be. Cooperation on your part might make this endeavor more...peasant.”  
  
“What the hell do you want, Ruvik?” You sat up tossing your legs off the side of the gurney as you rubbed your wrists. The room around you began to twist and warp until your surroundings changed to that of a bedroom and the gurney beneath you turned into a plush king-sized bed. “Oh, hell no... You are not-- Don't you even think about-- Don't you dare--” You scooted back away from him as your heart raced.  
  
“Quiet. I am not going to touch you. I figured this,” He waved a heavily scarred hand around the room. “Would be more inviting to talk in rather than a lab. Wouldn't you agree, Y/N?” His back was now turned to you. You eyed the door but you knew you couldn't escape even if you wanted to. You looked down at the floor and sighed in defeat. You took in your surroundings again and realized you were back at the manor as you had been in this room a few times before with Sebastian while looking for clues on how to escape. You wondered how Ruvik knew your name but then answered your own question feeling stupid. Why wouldn't he know your name? You were stuck in his damn mind.  
  
“What do you want...? You want to get some information out of me and then kill me? Is that it? I have nothing to give you, Ruvik, even you should know that. You know all that goes on in here...” You looked over at him with tired eyes as he gazed out the window. “I don't even know why I'm here or how I got here... One minute, I'm minding my own business then all of a sudden the street is falling apart under my feet causing me to hopscotch to survive, and then I hop into this ambulance with these guys...” You tucked your knees against your chest and hugged your legs to yourself. “Now I'm here...with you trying to kill me and everyone else here... You seem to have some sort of beef with everyone here, but me... So, why not just kill me and get it over with, Ruvik? I'm a nobody in here... I'm just an extra--”  
  
You heard Ruvik take in a deep breath but didn't look at you. “You talk a lot.” You just shrugged. “You inadvertently got caught in the cross-hair of my plan for vengeance. I almost want to apologize,” You raised a brow as you eyed him cautiously. “I only wanted the boy and Jimenez, the other's were MOBIUS's doing.”  
  
“What's MOBIUS?” You narrowed your eyes.  
  
“You heard my tapes, so you know what they've done to me. Why I'm trapped here...” Ruvik only looked at you for a moment and you rose your brows as your expression somewhat softened. “To explain it to you simply, Mobius is a shady company that--”  
  
“Stole your research, your machine, your body, and your brain...” Your face shifted between pity and sadness.  
  
Ruvik fully turned to you. “That right there is why I took you.” You lifted your head back up to face him as he stepped closer. Soon he was mere inches from your face making you gulp. You may have felt bad for him but he was still dangerous. You felt like his cold eyes burned through you. “You are especially responsive to me...” His eyes narrowed again. _“Why?”_ You leaned back some.  
  
“I-I-I don't know what you're talking about...” You half believed that. Was he talking about the visions...? Only you had seemed to experience them, Sebastian seemed fine... “I've had a few headaches and a nosebleed?” You blinked up at him his nose only a centimeter from yours till he walked away again. You had no idea what was going on.  
  
“I have been stuck inside my own invention trying to escape to no avail. I've killed, maimed, tortured, experimented, failed, excelled, trying desperately to find someone that can handle the weights of my psyche so that I can be free...” Ruvik turned to you again. “But I have never found a creature such as you within here.”  
  
You leaned back again. “I--”  
  
“You are something special, Y/N. Though, you are not special enough in that I can use you... You would die immediately. If I were to try and use you as a way to leave this place the strain on your mind and body would kill you.” He eyed you from across the room.  
  
“I... I don't understand... I mean I understand if you try to take me for a joyride out of here it would kill me but...then how am I special?” Your brows scrunched in confusion.  
  
“Your mind and your emotions. Your reaction to my memories and my pain...you reacted intensely. No one in here has ever--”  
  
“Given a shit about you?” You say blatantly and arched a brow at him. Your question made him take pause which was new for him. “D-did you give me those visions...on purpose?” You tilted your head.  
  
“Yes.” He nodded.  
  
“Hmm...” You bit on your bottom lip and then sighed. “Permission to speak freely for a second?”  
  
“Go ahead.” He rose a nonexistent brow.  
  
You patted the empty space next to you. “You standing around is making me nervous. If you wanted to kill me you would have already. So, if you want to talk then let's talk... So, sit your ass down if you aren't going to let me go. I'm probably the only person that gets you any way,” You sigh. To your surprise, he was immediately next to you making you jump back. “Jesus Christ!”  
  
“That's exactly my reasoning for bringing you here,” He began, his eyes looking more somber than focused. “You don't see me as a monster...” Him saying the word monster made your heart sink as you remembered him speaking to Jimenez as a boy. “I hate your pity, though I see your understanding, your sympathy.” Ruvik folded his hands. He seemed uncomfortable. Out of his element.  
  
“I'm guessing you heard what I said to Sebastian about you, huh?” Your voice was softer than before. You felt you weren't sitting next to a mad scientist anymore. Just the shell of a very deeply broken man.  
  
“Yes.” He didn't look at you.  
  
“You and Laura didn't deserve what happened to you... You shouldn't have had to pay for your father's sins like that... Those people were the ones who were the real psychos...” You sat cross-legged on the bed to get comfortable as you fiddle with your fingers. “You were just a couple of kids having a good day... You shouldn't have had to suffer like that... I wondered if you would have turned out differently...” You looked over at him and you could just sense the despair within him. “I'm sorry they didn't care that you two were in there...”  
  
“You know her name...?” When Ruvik did look up at you his piercing eyes reflected a sadness that you had never known. It struck your heart.  
  
“How could I not, Ruvik? Between the journal entries and the nosebleed you gave me, how could I not know her name?” You chuckled. “Each vision made me feel like my mind was tearing apart.”  
  
“I'm sorry...” That threw you for eight-hundred different kinds of loops.  
  
“Who are you and what have you done with Ruvik?” You blinked. “Is this another mind trick? Should I be worried? Is my head going to split like a melon again? Are-are you a doppelganger and not the real Ruvik? Wait...those scream bloody murder...” You shook your head at the thought. You had run into one of those fake Ruvik copies once and the shriek it had made about blew out your damn eardrums.  
  
Ruvik closed his eyes and exhaled through his nose suddenly. Did he just laugh? “I assure you I'm the real me.”  
  
“Oh, good... I think?” You quickly added. “So, you brought me here because I was receptive to the visions to sent me?”  
  
“Yes,” Ruvik looked towards you again. “Especially, the one with me and my sister in the barn. You felt that vision so intensely it grabbed my attention. The first time was when you saw me talking to Jimenez as a child and the second time when you saw me in my parent's room.” His gaze became slightly angered. “I can't figure out why you--”  
  
“Well, I am hooked to a machine that links our brains, Ruvik,” You began, leaning back on your hands. “So, it makes sense you can just send visions and memories to me directly if you so chose. As to why I understand you, that alone is simple to understand. I see past your surface and I am something of a human myself.” You looked over to him. “I don't just see some psychopathic murderous scientist who dissects brains anymore, I see a boy who the world fucked in the ass for no reason. I see the boy who was horrifically burned because his father pissed some people off. I see the boy whose father locked him up in a basement and lied to his wife telling her that both their children were dead. I see the young man who killed his parents once he was able to get free after what seemed like years of neglect. I see the young man who, even though his experiments caused a lot of death, tried to create something incredible to try to get his sister back. I see a man who was betrayed by his business partner and had his work stolen from him,” You took a leap of faith and set a kind hand on his thigh. He only slightly flinched. “I see the man who had a shitty company steal his hard work from him along with his body, having them steal his brain to use as the core, trapping him inside his own mind-scape with no way out, and leaving him in a hellish limbo with nothing but his own totured thoughts... Am I too far off the record...?”  
  
Ruvik shook his head. “No one ever sees that. They only see the man I've become. The...result.”  
  


“I can look at people and not condone the things they've done...but I can understand them. As they say, there are two sides to every story.” You give his thigh a kind squeeze before taking your hand back. “Even the dark and twisted stories.” You gave him a kind smile. “Your research is phenomenal if I'm being honest. I may not fully understand it all but I think it's pretty interesting. It just sucks how it all came to be...” The corners of your mouth drooped. You decided to change the subject. “Ya know, you were sort of a cute spooky little boy. If I found you at the end of my bed in the middle of the night I would defiantly scream,” You chuckled. “But kind of cute nonetheless. Your childhood giggle is a thing of nightmares.”  
  
Ruvik suddenly exhaled through his nose again. “You are...strange.”  
  
“Thank you.” You let out a light laugh. “So, you only brought me here just to talk because I understand your pain?”  
  
“More or less.” Ruvik stood up and went back to the window gazing out into the yard. “I suppose it was your humanity that has intrigued me.”  
  
“That's kind of cliché, Ruvik.” You laughed. “ _Evil bad guy takes notice of the normal girl's kindness,_ that one-hundred percent, cliché.”  
  
“Maybe so.” When he turned his head towards you briefly you could have sworn he smiled, but only a tiny bit.  
  
  
“So,” You let out a soft whistle to fill the silence. “What now? I didn't expect to live this long.”  
  
“If I am being honest, I'm not really sure. You're the first person I have encountered that I do not wish to kill and nor do you anger me. I haven't experienced that in a very long time...” The air around Ruvik became somber. You looked at your hands and took another leap of faith by walking over to him and setting your hand on his shoulder.  
  
“Laura must have meant the world to you. I never had siblings, but I can tell she was very important to you. I'm sorry you lost her the way you did... How old were you when it happened...? If you don't mind me asking, of course...”  
  
“I, myself, was ten.” Ruvik's eyes fell upon your hand but he said nothing.  
  
“Good, God...” You pressed your knuckles to your lips.  
  
“God, was not there that day.” His gaze became intense. “I do not care for religion, but if I had, I'd have cast it aside as this so-called God abandoned me and my sister. God, left her to die and to burn as if she were engulfed in Hell's fire...”  
  
“Ruvik...” His name was soft on your lips causing him to calm just a touch. “H-how long did your father lock you away...? You were a boy in one memory but a young man in the other when you...” You didn't want to say it.  
  
  
“My deeply loving father locked me away for ten years. I was twenty when I managed to escape.” Ruvik said coldly.

You covered your mouth. “Oh my God...” Your heart dropped falling into the pit of your stomach. You walked over to one of the chairs having to sit down. It's wasn't your trauma but that was a lot to take in. Burned at ten, locked in a basement at ten, managing to escape at the age of twenty... “I can't imagine... You were only a child, Ruvik...to be locked in a basement for so long... I didn't realize...” You felt like you wanted to cry on his behalf and your heart had popped out of your chest and bursting after it hit the floor.  
  
Ruvik turned around and had his eyes on you. “You're feeling intensely again.”  
  
“How can I not?... That is fucked up beyond words... After all that, after everything you've been through, you get your shit stolen from you, you get your brain scooped out, and it's used to power the very thing you had created just to see someone you lost...I...It's...” You buried your face in your hands. “It's fucked up, Ruvik...”  
  
  
Icy fingers lift your chin forcing you to look into the intense gaze of Ruvik's pale eyes. Your teary eyes held such deep sadness and care for him. “You are an intriguing creature, Y/N.” His lips curled into that of a sly smile. “I think I find you very interesting and we just may have a lot to discuss.”

**Author's Note:**

> ( A comment would be appreciated as I have never written Ruvik before. I may add more to this later if more ideas comes to me. I want to know what you guys think. :) )


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